


The Devil's Crappy Day

by Antarctic_Echoes



Series: Luciferian Fics (One shots) [48]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst, Deckerstar - Freeform, Evil birds, F/M, Harassment, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Graphic Violence, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-20 17:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14266050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes
Summary: Lucifer tries his best to accept Chloe’s decision to date Marcus, but one random incident will set things into motion, changing everything...Four-chapter, one-shot fix-it for S3x19 and the S3x20 promo.





	1. A Really Bad Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Navaros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navaros/gifts).



> This is for my wonderful, awesome friend, Navaros. I had started this story before S3x19, but after I saw the episode, I was so distraught that I was ready to chuck the whole thing out the window. Navaros kept me from throwing it out, and encouraged me to revise and finish it. Thank you for keeping me on track, Navaros, and for supporting me through my anxiety! <3
> 
> And a big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme, for beta-ing this huge monster for me, and at such short notice!
> 
> The incident in Chapter 1 that sets the ball rolling is something that actually happened to me, and I had people laughing at me, too. Luckily, I don’t own a convertible! But if you’re wondering if something like that can actually happen, YES. YES IT CAN. 
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker, Mazikeen, Ella Lopez, Dan Espinoza and Marcus Pierce are owned by Vertigo Comics, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and everyone else involved with the Lucifer TV show and comic books. I own nothing and make no money on this. I merely am borrowing the characters for... uh... writing practice.

 

 

 

Lucifer missed working with Chloe.

Now that Pierce was in her life, she didn’t seem to need him any longer.  That tall wanker of a lieutenant was always there, working her cases with her, discounting anything Lucifer said, and sometimes even pushing him physically aside.  Chloe was quick to reassure him that they were still partners, but more and more often, the Devil had started to feel like an old shoe -- worn out, useless, unwanted.  After all, her complete attention was focused with laser intensity on Pierce.  To add insult to injury, she was no longer wearing the necklace that he, Lucifer, had given her.

But he had to get used to that, didn’t he?  Chloe had free will, and he wanted to make sure that he didn’t influence her choice in any way.  Unfortunately for him, she had chosen the lieutenant, and there was nothing he could do about that.  Seeing them together was like a sword slashing at his heart, hacking bits and pieces off in the most painful way possible.

When he realized that things had grown serious between her and Pierce, he had gone on a massive bender -- drinking, drugs, the whole nine yards.  He had tried to tell her that her newfound boyfriend was Cain, the First Murderer, cursed by Dad and doomed to walk the Earth for eternity.  She had grown angry, telling him that Pierce was a good man -- Cain!  A good man! -- and that if he wanted to remain her partner, he’d better pull himself together.

The fallen angel had gone off the rails after that, but then realized that if he didn’t put himself to rights, he wouldn’t be able to protect her.  There was no doubt in Lucifer’s mind that Pierce was up to no good -- he had to save Chloe from whatever scheme that bastard was thinking up.  She was all that mattered, after all.  She was his world. Caught in her orbit, he was helpless to pull away, and all he could do was crash and burn.

So Lucifer cleaned himself up, despite the ache in his heart that never went away.  He did his best to be the model partner, all the while wishing that things could go back to the way they used to be... but those days were gone.  He didn’t even get to accompany her in the car when they were tracking down leads.  Pierce rode with her, which meant Lucifer was relegated to the back seat -- not a place that he relished.  So these days he drove himself to the crime scenes, and tried not to look on with envy when Chloe drove the bloody prat everywhere.

They hadn’t had a case in a while -- either that, or the Detective wasn’t calling him if they had one -- so when she let him know that they were investigating a murder-suicide, he dropped everything he was doing and hurried over to the expensive neighborhood of Brentwood.  Parking was never easy in the hills of Los Angeles, but with it being late morning and everyone at work, he was able to find a spot under a large tree.  Hopping out of his Corvette, he walked past the milling police officers in the driveway and into the sprawling two-story stucco mansion.

The fallen angel found Chloe interviewing a witness in a living room that was as large as her apartment.  Pierce was there, of course, hovering in the background like some lurking monster.  Walking to her side, Lucifer said nothing but tried to look interested as the boring man rattled on about how angry the murder suspect had been after being dumped by his now-deceased girlfriend.

From the corner of his eye, the fallen angel studied the Detective.  She was wearing her black outfit with the pinstriped jacket, and her hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail.  Her melodious voice was like a symphony to Lucifer’s ears, and he closed his eyes as he listened to her ask the man -- apparently the victim’s brother -- questions.  He didn’t pay any attention to what Chloe was saying -- he would have been happy listening to her read entries from a dictionary.  The heady fragrance of her shampoo, soft and floral, tantalized his nose and filled him with longing.  He let out a soft sigh. He had missed her so much -- missed the camaraderie they had once shared, missed her little touches....

“Lucifer?  Are you okay?”

He jumped at Chloe’s words.  His eyes flew open to find her looking up at him with concern.  The brother had gone, leaving him alone with his partner.  Clearing his throat, he tried to regain his equilibrium.  “Of course, Detective. Why do you ask?”

A fine, vertical line appeared between her brows as she frowned.  “You looked... far away.”

“Ah... yes, well....”  He waved airily and struggled to adopt a cavalier attitude.  “Late night at LUX -- you know how it is.”

“Oh.”  Chloe bit her lower lip as she gave a small nod.  “Okay. Well then, if you’re tired, you don’t have to do this.  You can go back home --”

“No!”  The word burst from him before he could stop it.  Appalled at his lack of control, Lucifer gave his partner a forced smile.  “No need for that.  I’m perfectly able to help out.”

She gave him a look that clearly said that she thought him touched in the head.  “Okaaaaay, well then, you can help me interview the maid --”

“Morningstar, I want you to see what Lopez is doing,” Pierce suddenly interrupted, stepping between the two of them.

Lucifer took an involuntary step backward.  “But --”

“Decker and I can handle things on this end.”

As Pierce grabbed the Detective’s arm and guided her toward the cleaning woman at the far end of the room, Chloe looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes apologetic.

Shoulders slumping, the fallen angel pursed his lips as he watched their receding figures.  He repeated to himself over and over that he did _not_ have a hole in his chest where his heart should have been, and he did _not_ want to tear his partner out of Pierce’s arms and punch the sod in the face.  Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply before he wandered through the mansion in search of Ella.

He found her in the library, bent over the face-down body of the murder suspect.  The back of his head was missing, and next to him was a gun.  Lucifer jammed his hands in his pockets and let out a low whistle.  “My, my. Talk about a headbanger.  He really bit the bullet, didn’t he?”

Ella glanced up from her examination of the body and waved cheerfully.  “Oh hey, Lucifer!”  She craned her neck to peek behind him.  “No Chloe?”

His face spasmed in pain -- he couldn’t help it -- but he managed a crooked smile.  “No, she’s gone off with the Lieutenant to talk to more boring people.”

She winced.  “Oh no, Lucifer, I’m so sorry.  But maybe she’ll need you later.”

The fallen angel shrugged as his hands clenched into fists in his pockets.  Ella was always perceptive -- maybe too much so, in this case. He needed to get her thoughts off of him and onto a safe topic.  After sauntering over to her, he peered over her shoulder at the gruesome scene.  “So... has some nefarious person murdered this poor chap and made it look like a suicide?”  He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice.  Perhaps Chloe might want him to work with her on this case, like the old days....

“Nah, this is clearly a suicide.”  Ella pointed to the hand near the gun.  “Look at this -- there are fine droplets of blood along with the bloody residual on the back of the hand.  And here -- high velocity impact splatter on the palm.  His hand was definitely in close proximity to his head when he was shot.”

Lucifer wilted.  “Oh.” His mind raced as he searched for some other way to get the Detective to work with him.  “Well... well maybe someone killed the man’s ex-girlfriend and this poor chap became so distraught that he shot himself in the head.”

Ella rolled her eyes.  “Dude, that’s a little far-fetched, considering he was mad at her for dumping him.”

His teeth clenched at her skepticism.  She wasn’t cooperating one bit!  “Well, you don’t know that for sure, do you?  Have you checked the other body?”

“I haven’t worked my way upstairs yet --”

“Well no time to waste!”  The fallen angel clapped his hands at her.  “Let’s go, chop, chop!”

Once she climbed to her feet, he ushered her out the door and guided her toward the stairs, running into Chloe and Pierce on the wide, circular staircase.  As soon as he saw them, his footsteps slowed and, like a lovesick calf, he faltered to a stop.  His partner stood there, looking professional and authoritative, with notepad in hand as she interviewed another boring human.  She noticed his gaze, and although she didn’t smile, her face took on a charming, rosy hue.  Lucifer thought she had never looked more beautiful.

Standing beside her, the lieutenant noticed his gaze and lifted his chin.  “You want something, Morningstar?”

Pierce’s harsh tone pulled the fallen angel back to earth.  What was he doing? He couldn’t be mooning over his partner -- she had made her choice very clear.  His heart grew heavy and his shoulders slumped as his eyes fell to the floor.  “N-no.”  Plastering a smile on his face, he turned to the dark-haired woman beside him.  “Shall we go?  The body is upstairs.”  He nodded to the other couple.  “If you will excuse us....”

Lucifer showed Ella into the master bedroom, where she immediately went to examine the victim.  Settling himself down in a nearby chair, he watched the lab tech study the body, the walls and carpet, and various items around the room.  Every five minutes he asked her what her findings were, until she finally told him to stop asking.  Chastised, he squirmed in his chair and tried not to show how absolutely bored he was.  He drank from his flask repeatedly until he ran out of alcohol.

“Bloody hell.”  How was he supposed to pass the time now?  Tucking the silver container away, he started fidgeting with his cufflinks.

After what felt like forever, the lab tech straightened and arched her back with a groan.  Lucifer jumped out of his chair and strode to her side.  “Well? Someone else killed the poor woman, am I correct?  Did they climb up the balcony and slip through an unlocked door?”

“Nope.  All the evidence points to the perpetrator being our guy downstairs.”

Lucifer’s chest tightened, but he forced out a laugh.  “No, you must be mistaken.”

“‘Fraid not.  Based on the position of the body and the blood spatter patterns on the walls, I can estimate how close our shooter was.”  Ella walked over to a nearby armoire and touched its corner edge.  “Look, the bullet nicked here before it hit our vic.  I can work backwards from its trajectory to see where it came from.”  She walked to the master bedroom door.  “The shooter had to be standing here.”  She pointed to faint smudges of dirt on the white carpet.  “And look at these markings -- distinctive round circles.  What do you want to bet our suicide guy is wearing shoes with the same tread?”

This wasn’t at all what the fallen angel wanted to hear.  “Why don’t we go downstairs and check?  I’m sure you must be mistaken.”

She wasn’t.  As they stood over the dead body in the study and looked at the distinctive circles on the treads of the shoes, Lucifer felt his heart drop to his knees.  There went his chance to work with the Detective....

Ella was cheerfully oblivious.  Slapping her hand on his shoulder, she smiled at him.  “Don’t look so glum!  At least you won’t have to do as much paperwork.”

He glowered at her.  “You don’t understand --”

“Hey, Lucifer, love your car,” shouted an officer from across the room.

The fallen angel blinked at the arbitrary comment.  Waving at the man, he called back, “Thank you!”

Ella gave him a puzzled glance.  “That was kind of random.”

He shrugged.  “The fellow probably has never seen a classic car in his life --”

“Lucifer, I looooove the paint job,” another officer said with a snicker as he walked past them.

A cold chill worked its way up the fallen angel’s spine as he looked at the people around him.  Some were pointing, others covered their mouths with their hands... but they were all laughing at him.

His face grew hot.  He knew this feeling -- it was the same one he’d had as a young angel when his brother Michael had shoved him into a star just after he had lit it, causing it to explode in a supernova.  With his robes charred and his face covered in soot, Lucifer had returned to the Silver City in disgrace, only to be scolded by his father.  As for his siblings, they had laughed at him for centuries, calling him a clumsy oaf and a pathetic joke of an angel.  He had sworn never to be laughed at again... but it was happening once more, wasn’t it?  The terrible nausea, the tightness in his stomach, the shortness of breath....  They were all washing over him, just as they had back _then._

Ella tugged at his arm.  “Maybe we should check your car.”

“Yes.”  The fallen angel swallowed at the ache in his throat and pressed a hand to her back.  He guided her toward the entryway, his long legs making quick work of the distance between the study and the front door.  “Perhaps we should.”

They ran into Pierce on the way out.  He had a nasty smile on his face.  “Wow, Morningstar, I always thought your ride was crap, but now I know it is.”

His heart pounding in his chest, Lucifer skidded to a halt.  “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, let’s find out.”  Ella pulled him away from the other man.  “Let’s go.”

The Devil allowed himself to be pushed out the door, then lengthened his stride as he walked to the street.  “I parked over here....”  When he reached his car, his mouth fell open. _“Shite.”_

“You can say that again,” a police officer said with a grin as he walked past him.

“Oh, Lucifer....”  Ella’s hand flew to her mouth.  “Oh no....”

The Corvette was covered in bird excrement.  The entire exterior was coated in the mottled green, white and brown substance -- hardly any of the black paint was visible.  The windshield was completely covered, and the interior....  Lucifer couldn’t even bring himself to think about the leather upholstery.  As Ella went to look at his car, his legs went out and he staggered before regaining his balance.  “No....”

Bloody hell -- _this,_ after he had lost Chloe?  What was dear old Dad trying to tell him?  That his life was now worth fecal matter?

Glaring up at the sky, he shook his fist.  “You rat-bastard, how dare you?!”  His eyes turned to the birds watching him from the tree.  “And you, you bloody creatures -- I’ll tear the wings off each and every one of you!”  His head pounded and his mouth went dry when he heard the distant chuckles of the police officers.  His face burning, he whirled and bared his teeth in their direction.

“You think this is funny?!” he yelled as he took a step toward them.  His wings, unbidden, flared out behind him.

“Ooooh, Lucifer brought his cosplay wings!” one of the officers yelled.

“Maybe he’s going to join the birds in the tree and take a dump on his own car!”  More laughter.

The fallen angel’s face grew even redder, but he hurriedly shrugged his bloody wings away.  Control -- he had to get control of the situation.  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  His insides shook from the force of his emotions, but he tried to steady himself.  After all, he was not a young, naive angel anymore.  He was Lucifer Morningstar, and he could handle this.  He’d hunt down every single human who had laughed at him, and punish them....

He jumped when Ella returned to his side.

“Lucifer, I’m so sorry.  I love your car.  What a tragedy.”  Her voice was watery.  Surprised, the Devil glanced down to see her blinking back tears.  “Oh god, this is just so heartbreaking to see.”

Mollified by her reaction, he managed a harsh chuckle.  “Please don’t bring Dad into it -- I’m sure he’s laughing his bloody head off.”  With a glare at the other officers, he added, “And not everyone shares your opinion.”

“Well, they’re a bunch of idiots.”  She joined him in shooting angry looks at the others before she gave him a smile.  “And I love your cosplay wings -- they’re awesome.”

Even as he sighed at her comment about his wings, his anger dissipated at her words.  At least someone was on his side, and it filled him with warmth.  Not the same kind of warmth that Chloe made him feel -- this was different, but nice, nonetheless.  He basked in the glow for a few seconds before he bit his lower lip and asked her the dreaded question.  “How... how bad is the car?”

Ella’s eyes grew wide and her face broke out into that overbright smile she always got when she lied.  “Oh... not too bad.”

He winced.  “That bad, eh?”

Her shoulders fell and she hung her head.  “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

The fallen angel straightened his spine and smiled bracingly at her.  “It’s not your fault. I suspect someone else had a hand in this,” he said as he glared at the sky.  Ella saw the direction he was looking and nodded.

“Yeah, sometimes the Big Guy tends to rain on everyone’s parade.”

“More like always.”  He sighed.  “I’ll have to take the Corvette to a car detailer.”

The lab tech brightened.  “That’s a great idea! Why don’t you call a tow company?  I can give you a ride to wherever you need to go.”

Surprised at her offer, Lucifer felt the glow inside of him grow a little brighter.  “I would appreciate that, Ms. Lopez.”

“Lucifer, I heard what happened!”  Chloe’s voice rang out behind them.

As he turned, the fallen angel’s eyes widened at the sight of his partner rushing up to him with her ponytail flying behind her and her expression full of concern.  Was she worried?  For him?  His heart swelled.

“Detective --”  He broke off as a sudden irrational fear gripped him at the thought of his car.  Would she laugh at him, just like almost everyone else had done?  He couldn’t bear that -- not from her.  His cheeks flushed, he stepped in front of her and tried to block her view.  “Please go back. It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with --”

“Of course it is -- it’s your car.  I know how much you love it....”  Her voice petered out as she caught sight of Ella behind him.  “Oh. I... uh... I didn’t know you were... uh....”

He waved to the lab tech.  “Ms. Lopez was kind enough to examine the damage.”  The Devil managed a smile.  “She says it’s not too bad.  No need for you to look at it, as well.”

Chloe glanced around him and cringed when she saw the car.  “That’s... that’s not nothing, Lucifer.”

“I have it under control.”

She bit her lower lip.   “Oh. Okay. If you’re sure....  Look, I can take you back to the precinct, if you want to get it towed somewhere --”

“Oh, what a good --”

Lucifer cut Ella off.  “Quite unnecessary, Detective.  Ms. Lopez has kindly offered to drive me back.  Please don’t trouble yourself.”

His partner’s eyes shifted from Ella to him.  For a moment hurt flashed across her face, before her expression grew impassive.  Lucifer flinched at the sight. He had hurt her -- again -- when he had only been trying to allay her worries.  Could he do nothing right?  He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat.  He didn’t even know what to say.

But she had already started to back away.  “Uh... yeah. Okay.  Look, I better get back, I need to... yeah.  I’ll catch you at the precinct.”

As he watched her hasten away, a knifing pain stabbed Lucifer’s heart.  Regret burned his insides like acid.  Ah, if only he hadn’t made the mistake of trying to get Dad’s attention away from her, and if only she hadn’t started dating Pierce.  If only, if only....  He shook his head.  He was a fool.

Rubbing his chest and hoping the ache would go away, he turned to Ella, only to see her glaring at him.  “What?”

“What did you do that for?  You could have totally gotten a ride back with Chloe --”  Her mouth fell open as she stared at him.  “Oh. My. God.”

Puzzled, he cocked his head at her.  What was she gaping at?  “What is it?  What has Dad done now?”

“You’re in love with her.”

“What?!”  The fallen angel flinched at her statement.  There were times when Ella was far too perceptive for his taste.  He felt stripped naked in front of her, and not in a good way.  Waving dismissively, he gave a half-laugh.  “Me? In love with the Detective?”

The dark-haired woman didn’t laugh, but just kept staring at him with her dark, soulful eyes.  “It’s written all over your face --”

“Goodness, remind me to use a better facial scrub next time,” he quipped, but it fell flat when she didn’t even crack a smile.

“You’re dying inside.  She’s dating Pierce and it’s killing you.”

For a second longer he kept up the charade before he let it fall away.  Casting a glance back at the house, he saw that Chloe had stopped to talk to a couple of officers in the driveway.  His shoulders slumping, he turned his attention back to Ella.  “It... it hasn’t been easy.”

She grabbed his upper arms and gave him a shake.  “Then why aren’t you fighting for her?”

“How can I?  She’s made her choice.”  His voice grew sad as he sneaked another peek at Chloe, only to see that she was now talking to Pierce.  “I tried to warn her, tell her that there’s much more to the lieutenant than meets the eye, but she won’t listen.  She only has eyes for him... and because free will is my jam, there’s nothing I can do.  I have to make sure that she has the one she wants.”

Ella squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed her forehead.  “Dude, I know how important it is for you to stay in character, but I think you need to drop the method acting for once.”

A rueful smile touched the fallen angel’s lips.  “I can’t do that.”

“But Lucifer, you’re not giving her a choice -- don’t you see that?  From what I can see, you’re not letting her know that you care.  How can you expect her to choose you if you don’t even show her how you feel?”

“It’s too late, Ms. Lopez -- the Detective has already made her decision.  She went to the Axara concert with the lieutenant, when I thought that we....  And then they....”  His words petered out as he pressed his eyes shut.  Swallowing hard, he nodded and said forcefully, “I have to respect her choice.”  He looked back at the lab tech.  “I want her to be happy.”

He let out a startled yelp when Ella threw her arms around him and hugged him hard.  It came as a complete surprise to him to see tears leaking from her eyes when she looked up at him.  “I am so sorry, Lucifer.  I wish there was some way I could help you with this.”

Warmth permeated the Devil’s heart at her words.  Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back awkwardly.  “You are helping.” Pulling away, he sat down on the curb and nodded his head at the space next to him.  Ella sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around her legs.

“So what are you going to do?” she asked.

He shrugged and gave her a crooked smile.  “Get the car cleaned up.”

She gave him a nudge on the arm.  “No, silly.  I mean what are you going to do about Chloe?”

Lucifer took a deep breath.  “I’ll protect her as best as I can from... well, from anyone who might harm her.  But after that?”  He swallowed hard.  “I think I might leave Los Angeles... permanently.”

Ella shook his arm.  “No, you can’t run away!”  Her expression grew determined.  “Look, sometimes relationships don’t work out.  What if Chloe finds out that Lieutenant Pierce is not the one for her?  That’s possible, you know -- it does happen.  She hasn’t entered into a covenant that’s etched in stone.  You need to stay.  I’m sure when she finds out how you feel about her, she’ll --”

“No!”  The word exploded from Lucifer.  “Don’t say anything to her... please.”

Ella pursed her lips and glared at him.  “But --”

He shook his head.  “Please, Ms. Lopez. Say nothing to her.  I don’t want her to... to feel obligated.  If she wishes to have me as a... a partner, then she must come to me of her own free will.  The Detective comes first.”

The fallen angel jumped when the lab tech let out a squeal and hugged him again.  “‘The Detective comes first.’  Awwww!  You’re so romantic!  I just want to squish you!”

“More than this?”  He winced.  “Please don’t.”

Ella’s eyes sparkled.  “Someday, Chloe will see how much you care about her.  Someday. You’ll see.  Have faith.”

“Faith.”  Lucifer let out a rueful chuckle.  “That’s more Dad’s gig than mine.”

“Come on!”  She elbowed him.  “Where there is faith, there is hope.  Trust me on this.”

He sighed.  It would have been wonderful if Ella was right in her prediction, but he doubted it.  Unwilling to ruin the lab tech’s sunny optimism, he pulled out his phone.  “I’d best call the car detailer now....”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Chloe was _not_ jealous.

As she hastened back to the house, she repeated to herself over and over that she was dating Marcus.  She had no reason to feel threatened by anyone, and certainly not by Ella, who was the sweetest person she had ever met.  She told herself it didn’t matter that Lucifer had rejected her offer of help in favor of Ella’s, and that he seemed more comfortable with the bubbly lab tech than he was with her, these days.  Casting a glance behind her, she saw him smile down at the other woman -- his expression was clearly visible, even at a distance.  Gritting her teeth, she repeated to herself that she was _not_ jealous.

In a pig’s eye, she wasn’t jealous.

Slowing to a stop, she let her shoulders droop as her chest tightened.  There couldn’t be anything between them, right?  Not that she cared, but....  Lucifer couldn’t be interested in _Ella,_ of all people -- especially considering that she was a devout Christian and he was the self-proclaimed Devil.  Obviously this was just an aberration.  Chloe gave a sharp nod to herself.  Yes.  That was all it was.

So why, then, did she have this terrible urge to tromp over there and yank Lucifer away?  Why did she want to yell at Ella, “He’s _my_ partner -- hands off!” and then scratch the other woman’s eyeballs out?  Those were not the thoughts of a calm person, and it definitely wasn’t a feeling she should have been harboring, since she was in a relationship with Marcus.

A couple of officers approached her, snickering to themselves.  One of them said, “Hey, Decker, I always knew Lucifer was full of crap.”

The man next to him grinned and added, “Yeah!  Who would have guessed he’d shit in his own car?”

Chloe’s heart faltered, then pounded in her chest as heat rushed into her cheeks.  Her hands balled into fists as she battled the urge to punch the men.  Pasting an overly bright smile on her face, she said, “What did you say?”

“I said he rides around in a boatload of crap -- or maybe I should say carload!” the first man said as he nudged his friend and laughed.

She smiled wider, right before her hand snaked out and grabbed the officer by the shirt.  Pulling him close, she said in a sweet voice, “Now I know you didn’t mean that, did you?  Because if you’re making fun of my partner, I will make it my sole purpose in life to turn your existence into a living hell.  Got it?”

“Hey, no need to get nasty -- we were just joking around,” the second officer said as he backed up a step.

Chloe’s eyes burned a hole into him.  “It’s not a joke if it’s not funny.  It’s called harassment.”

The first man said nervously, “We didn’t think you’d care, seeing as how he’s not your partner anymore, right?  I mean, you’re always with Lieutenant Pierce....”

The strength left Chloe’s fingers at his words, and she released him.  People thought that she wasn’t partners with Lucifer anymore?  She was barely aware of the two officers hurrying away as she glanced back at the tall man with Ella.  Did he think that, as well?  It was true that Marcus was constantly monopolizing her attention, but that didn’t mean she was abandoning Lucifer as her partner.  After he had gotten completely wasted and they’d argued, he had pulled himself together and accepted her relationship -- and that meant a lot to her.  He was her partner, and she enjoyed working cases with him.

The blonde detective chewed her lower lip.  Then again, she _had_ been spending a lot of her time with Marcus these days, both on and off duty -- they were dating, after all.  Maybe Lucifer did think their partnership was over...?  That made Chloe’s insides ache. But then, he had never shown any indication that he cared for her beyond a professional relationship.

So why did the thought of him paying attention to another woman bother her so much?  It didn’t make any sense.

“I’m dating Marcus,” she muttered to herself as she eyed the couple by the Corvette.  “Marcus.”

“Did you call me?”

Chloe jumped like a scalded cat at the sound of the lieutenant’s voice behind her.  Whirling around, she smiled nervously and hoped that her thoughts weren’t visible on her face.  “What?  No!  I mean... I was just thinking about our dinner last night.”

“Oh.”  A satisfied smile came over his face.  “I’m glad you liked it.”

She hadn’t, actually, but didn’t have the heart to tell him.  Last night’s dinner had been awkward, but she had pretended to have a good time.  Lately, going out with Marcus just felt wrong.  He was like a beautiful blouse she wanted to wear, but gradually the feel of the material left her feeling itchy and uncomfortable... and she was experiencing buyer’s remorse.

When they had first started dating, she’d been thrilled, but as time passed, she got the feeling that Marcus was hiding things from her.  He was cagey and avoided answering her questions.  At times he was distant and seemed reluctant to talk, which left her feeling unsettled.  There seemed to be a part of him that she couldn’t reach, which bothered her a lot.  And every once in a while, he seemed like someone else entirely -- someone cold and cruel.

And maybe because everything felt so wrong, she kept wishing he was someone else.  Someone just as tall, who was well dressed and sported a British accent... and who was now, unfortunately, with another woman -- and not some one night stand, but someone he worked with.  Someone he seemed to actually care for.

Marcus smirked as he glanced over at Lucifer and Ella.  “Those two certainly look chummy.”

Gritting her teeth, Chloe hoped he couldn’t see how bothered she was by his comment.  She took a deep breath and prayed for calm.  “Looks like it.”  She started to turn back toward the crime scene, but a movement caught her gaze.  Her eyes widened when the lab tech pulled Lucifer into a tight hug... and he returned it.

A knifing pain stabbed her chest, so agonizing that for a moment she thought her legs would buckle beneath her.  Her stomach twisted into a knot as every fiber of her being started screaming in denial.  _No, no, no...._  Why the _hell_ were they _embracing?!_  Her face flushed as the blood in her head pounded through her veins so hard that she thought her head was going to explode.  Clenching her hands into fists, she bit the inside of her cheek and closed her eyes against the sight, but the image was burned in her brain like a brand.

Marcus whistled, then laughed, apparently oblivious to Chloe’s agitation.  “Well would you look at that -- Miss Overly Joyful Pain in the Ass is hooking up with Mister Womanizing Egomaniac.  I’m sure her annoying outlook on life will complement his overinflated sense of self.”

Taken aback by his less-than-kind comments about her coworkers, she gaped at his rudeness, then shook her head.  It was one thing to hear mean comments about Lucifer from random officers -- it was a whole different story when it came from her boyfriend.  “Wow, Marcus.  Just wow.”

“What?”  He raised an eyebrow at her.  “Just calling it as I see it.”

It was at times like these that Chloe found herself really disliking her superior.  As he turned away from her to study the couple in the distance, she glared at him.  “Sometimes you can be such an ass.  There’s no need to be malicious.”

He gave a chuckle as his disbelieving eyes met hers.  “You can’t possibly care about Lucifer. You’re dating _me,_ Chloe.”

Her eyes widened at his audacity, and her hand twitched with the need to slap his face.  “Just because I’m dating you doesn’t mean I don’t care about other people, Marcus.  He’s my partner.”

“Oh?”  He lifted an eyebrow and shot her a sultry glance.  “I thought that _I_ was your partner.”

Flustered and thrown off-balance by his amorous gaze, she felt her stomach tighten -- and not in a good way.  Why was he trying to change the subject?  Couldn’t he see that this was important to her?  “Yes, well, I don’t think you should say such nasty things about him.  I still work with him.”

Shrugging, he looked back at Lucifer and Ella.  “I’m just saying that I’m glad that Lucifer’s found someone.  They suit each other.”  He glanced at Chloe.  “Don’t you think?”

She thought her head was going to explode at his comment.   _No.  Absolutely not._

His sharpened gaze bored into hers.  “We should be happy for them.”

Taken aback by his intensity, she found herself saying, “I guess so,” even though it went against every fiber of her being.  Her heart thumped in her chest as she tried to slow down her breathing and put on a calm demeanor.

“I think it’s great.  They can keep each other occupied while we get some real work done.”  Marcus let out a harsh laugh.  “They’ll look great sitting next to each other in the Crapmobile.”

Chloe winced at his description of Lucifer’s poor car.

The tall man turned on his heel and started to walk away, before looking back at her.  “You coming?”

“Yeah.”  The detective cast a final glance at the couple, now sitting on the curb together.  Ella was hugging Lucifer again -- it made Chloe want to vomit.  Following the lieutenant back into the house, she decided to find out exactly what was going on between those two.  Lucifer had assured her that he wasn’t interested in Ella, but that had been a long time ago.  Not that she was jealous -- she was just concerned about the well-being of her partner.  Nodding to herself, she decided to corner the lab tech at the precinct and find out they had been talking about.

 

 


	2. Getting Advice

 

 

When Chloe returned to the precinct, she paced the floor like a caged lion while waiting for Ella to come back from Brentwood -- the crime scene unit always took a long time to finish up.  Marcus asked her what was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him anything -- she was still too upset about his nasty comments regarding Ella and Lucifer. Finally throwing herself into her chair, she grabbed the files on her desk and started going through them in an effort to distract herself.

After a few minutes, she realized that someone was standing in front of her desk.  Looking up, she saw Dan with a folder in his hand, his eyes twinkling.  “You’re going to get ink on your mouth if you bite down any harder.”

“Huh?”  Chloe glanced down at the pen in her hand -- she hadn’t realized she had been chewing on it.  “Oh. Thanks.”  Setting the pen on the desk, she gazed at her ex-husband and gave him her full attention.  “You got something for me?”

“Yep -- the report from Ballistics on the Sanchez case.”

“Oh, great.”  She took the paperwork from him and tossed it on the stack of files.  “Thanks, Dan.”

He sat himself on the edge of her desk, a teasing smile on his face.  “You seem more distracted than usual today.  Things must be going well with Pierce.”

“Uh... yeah.  Sure.”  She thought a moment, then furrowed her brow as she studied him.  “Dan, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When you started dating, did you ever get the feeling like... I don’t know, that maybe your date wasn’t who she portrayed herself to be?”

Straightening, the dark-haired man gave her a perplexed look.  “What do you mean?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about Charlotte.  I like her -- she’s lovely and I’m happy you’re together.  I’m talking about before, when you reentered the dating scene.  Did you ever get the feeling like something was  _ too _ good?”

Dan looked left and right, then jerked his head in the direction of one of the nearby conference rooms.  Puzzled, Chloe stood and followed him until they were inside, where he closed the door behind them and gazed at her for a long minute with worry in his eyes.

“Are you okay, Chloe?”

She gave a little laugh.  “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

His eyes narrowed.  “I don’t know -- you tell me.”

With a sigh, she let her shoulders slump.  Dan had always known when she was anxious -- it was one of the things she had loved about him when they were married.  She perched on the edge of the table and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“It... it’s just that.... Marcus and I... it’s getting weird.”

“Weird?”  He blinked at her.  “I thought you two were doing well.”

“We were, but... it’s hard to explain.”  She pulled at the back of her neck.  “Most of the time he says all the right things.  He’s thoughtful, considerate -- the perfect boyfriend. But then every once in a while it’s like... like a mask drops, and I see someone else.  Someone that I don’t....”

“Don’t...?” Dan prompted when Chloe’s words faded away.

“Someone that I don’t like.”  Heat burned her cheeks as she gave him a crooked smile.  “That doesn’t even make sense, right?”  She waved her hand.  “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not.”  He took a gentle hold of her upper arms and tilted his head to catch her eye.  “You know I care deeply about you. If you’re having doubts, it’s not nothing.”

Her mouth dry, she chewed her lower lip as her eyes searched his.

“Look, Chloe, I know our divorce was just as hard on you as it was on me, and I know you’ve been wanting to find that special something we once had, but lost.  I just want you to know that no matter what, I’m here for you.  I want you to be happy -- you deserve it.  Now, I don’t particularly care for the lieutenant, but if he makes you happy, then I’m all for it.”  Dan took a deep breath and gave her a steady look.  “But if you’re having second thoughts, if you feel something isn’t right, then maybe you need to take a step back and reevaluate your relationship.  You’re a good detective.  If your gut is telling you something, listen to it.”

Chloe nodded as she turned his words over in her mind.  He had a point -- perhaps there was something about Marcus that her instincts had noticed, but she had pushed it away.  She had longed to be in a relationship again, to have a close connection with someone, and had wanted that someone to be Lucifer.  But when he hadn’t shown any interest in her, she had turned her sights to Marcus.  He had showered her with attention just when she needed it... but maybe that attention had blinded her to the true nature that lay beneath his perfect veneer?

She gave her ex-husband a smile.  “Thanks, Dan. I needed to hear that.”

“Trust yourself, Chloe.  You know what’s best for you.”  With a friendly pat on her shoulder, he left the conference room.

Wandering back to her work space, the blonde detective sat down, but didn’t touch the files on her desk.  Dan had given her a lot to think about.  Perhaps Marcus wasn’t the right one for her, especially if her gut was telling her “no.”  Her instincts kept telling her to return to Lucifer -- and maybe it was about time she listened.

Chloe lost all track of time as she ruminated over her relationship with Marcus.  When she finally checked her watch, she saw that it was approaching three o’clock in the afternoon.  Taking a deep breath, she strode over to the lieutenant’s office before she could change her mind.  Peering through the glass partition, she saw him sitting at his desk, looking out the window while he twirled a pen in his hand.   When she knocked, he swiveled around and smiled.  For the first time, she noticed that the expression did not reach his eyes.  Had he always looked so... plastic?  Had he always been so... stiff?

“Chloe!  Come on in.”  As she shut the door, the lieutenant stood up and walked over to her.  With that emotionless smile still on his face, his hands reached out and pulled her close, until she was pressed up against him.

Her stomach churned as she tried to pry his fingers away from her waist.  “No -- we’re in the office....”

“When has that ever stopped us?”  He kissed her then, deeply.

Everything inside her screamed in revulsion.  Jerking her head away, she twisted out of his grip.  “Marcus, please --”

His face became shuttered, as if a door had slammed down over his expression.  “What’s wrong, Chloe?  You’ve never rejected my kisses before.”

Her hands twisted in front of her as she backed away and put some distance between them.  “Look... I came to talk to you, not make out.”

The tall man perched on the edge of his desk, his arms crossed in front of him.  “Okay, so talk.”

She chewed on her lower lip, then took a deep breath.  “I... I think we should stop seeing each other.”

He blinked at her, still expressionless.  “May I ask why?”

“This --”  Chloe waved at the both of them.  “This... isn’t right.  You’re my boss and I should have never gotten into a relationship with you to begin with.”

“That’s not it.”  His eyes narrowed as he lifted his chin.  “This has to do with Lucifer and Ella, doesn’t it?”

Her mouth fell open.  That was the last thing she had expected him to say.  “No!”

The features on his face still looked indifferent.  “Then you must be upset about what I said about his car.”  He snorted and adopted a condescending attitude.  “I was just joking, Chloe.”

His tone immediately grated her the wrong way.  Struggling to keep from throwing something at him, she bit the inside of her cheek.  “No, it has nothing to do with that.”

“Then what?”

“It’s about....”  Hearing the tremor in her own voice, Chloe tried to still the nervous feeling within her.  Why was this so hard?  Why was it so much easier to talk to Lucifer than it was to Marcus?  Her brows drew down as she pondered over that fact.  Perhaps it was because she always knew where she stood with him, whereas with Marcus... she didn’t. And that spoke volumes about the relationship she was in.

Clearing her throat, she straightened her spine.  “Your comments today showed me that deep down inside, we’re two different people.  I just don’t think it’s going to work out. Our core values are pretty different.”

“How are they different?  We both fight crime. We like putting away the bad guys.”  He stood up and drew near, his eyes unblinking as he watched her like a snake.  “I think we make a great team.  We need to stay together, Chloe.”

“I don’t want to be with a man who laughs at someone else’s misfortune, or who talks bad about my coworkers.”

“Okay, so I won’t do that anymore.”  His voice remained unnaturally calm.

She took a step back and shook her head.  Her instincts screamed at her to leave, to run away.  Something was definitely wrong -- she shouldn’t have been feeling this way at all.  And then she realized what it was: he lacked passion.  Dan would have been making all sorts of heartfelt arguments as to why they should remain together, while Lucifer would have gone off on a massive bender.  But Marcus?  He spoke as if he was arranging a corporate merger.  He was cold, like a shark -- as if his heart was untouched.

And maybe it was, she realized with a start.  Although she had told him she wanted someone who would open his heart to her, it appeared that he hadn’t.  All this time she thought she had been dating someone wonderful, only to find out she didn’t know him at all.  Her stomach churned as she struggled not to throw up.  How blind she had been!

Attempting to keep her voice steady, she spoke sharper than she had intended.  “You can’t change who you are. I’m sorry, Marcus, but no.”

“I’m not giving you up.”

Her heart hammered in her chest.  “You’re going to have to.”

Marcus stared hard at her with narrowed eyes.  “We’ll talk about this over dinner.”

A chill ran up her spine at his intense gaze, his firm voice.  “No, we won’t.”

Walking back to his desk, the tall man sat down and picked up a file.  He gave her a dismissive wave.  “I’ll pick you up at your apartment at seven.”

She gaped at him.  “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

He looked up at her then, his green eyes boring into hers.  “I said we’ll talk about it tonight, Chloe.  Dismissed.”

Her face burned at his brush-off.  She couldn’t believe the nerve of that guy!  Storming back to her desk, she threw herself in her chair.  Well, she just wouldn’t be home at seven!  She’d ask Dan to take care of Trixie and take herself off somewhere.

From out of the blue, a yearning hit her to go to LUX, to see Lucifer.  As odd as her partner had been acting in recent days, he had always been kind to her, and respectful of her wishes.  She missed his random comments, and his warm laugh.  No matter how strange he acted, she knew that deep down, he cared for her in his own way.  Although he sometimes -- okay, most times -- acted like a child, he was far more honest with her than Marcus had ever been.

Her mind drifted back to when she had last seen him -- that morning, at the crime scene.  How had the clean-up with his car gone?  Chloe winced as she remembered Lucifer’s interaction with Ella.  Pursing her lips, she swore to find out what the status of their relationship was.  Not that it was any of her business, but she needed to know.  And if she found out her partner was dating the lab tech, she’d wish them all the best, then run home and cry with regret for what could have been.

Hurrying to the lab tech’s office, Chloe hoped that Ella was back from the field.  When she caught sight of her friend, she breathed a sigh of relief.  Knocking on the office door, she waited for her to respond.

The dark-haired woman looked up from her microscope, her face wreathed in a wide smile.  “Chloe!  Hey!  That was some murder-suicide today, wasn’t it?  Oh!  You must be looking for the Fischer case file -- I have it here.”  She started digging through the piles of paperwork next to her.

Walking inside the office, the detective closed the door behind her and looked around.  The lab was a classic example of organized chaos -- Chloe had no idea how Ella could find anything amidst all the equipment and bottles of chemicals, but she had no doubt that the bubbly woman knew exactly where everything was.  She edged up next to the lab tech and fidgeted with a rack of test tubes on the large light table.

“Ah, here it is!”  Ella handed her a thick file.  “There’s still one more report missing -- the independent lab said they’d deliver the results tomorrow -- but you can totally take it now.”

Grasping the thick folder, Chloe gave it a cursory glance, then clutched it to her.  Shifting from foot to foot, she wondered how she could ask Ella what was going on between her and Lucifer without totally coming off as a jealous, possessive woman.  Subtle... she had to be subtle.  She could totally do subtle.

“Hey, uh....  So, this morning... what were you and Lucifer talking about?”  She winced at the bald-faced question.  So much for subtlety....

“Oh, his car, and... uh... uh....“  Ella suddenly started rearranging things on the table as she gave Chloe an overly-bright smile.  “You know -- uh... stuff. Why do you ask?”

Her response didn’t fill the detective with confidence, and her stomach twisted into a knot.  Was something really going on between those two?  “Well... I was wondering if he was okay.  I mean his car got totally ruined, and... well, I could have helped.  I mean, not that you weren’t helping.”  A high-pitched laugh escaped Chloe as her voice grew higher than normal.  An uncontrollable need to explain herself came over her, and she found herself rambling.  “It’s just that... he’s my partner, and I want to make sure he’s okay, because he must have been upset by what had happened....”  Her voice petered out as she winced.  She was making a complete hash of this.

A look of relief flooded Ella’s face.  “Oh, he’s okay.  He got the Corvette towed to a great detailer.  I picked him up and dropped him off at home.”

Chloe eyed her with suspicion.  “And... that’s it?”

Ella nodded.  “Uh-huh. I had to get back -- I’m just swamped with work.”

All the tension left the detective’s body and she chuckled.  “Of course.  I mean, of  _ course! _  I had thought that you and he... well, it doesn’t matter.”  She started backing away at the puzzled expression on the lab tech’s face.  “I better get going.  Thanks for the file --”

“Oh.  My. God.”  Ella’s face lit up like the sun.  “Are you jealous of Lucifer... and  _ me?” _

The blood rushed out of Chloe’s face.  “What?  No!  No... no way.”

“You can’t deny it!  It’s as clear as day!  Oh my god!”  For a moment it looked as though the lab tech would break out into song.  She beamed at Chloe as she bounced on her heels.  “Do you know what this means?  It means you and... oh wow!  This is so exciting!”

The detective blinked at her.  “What is so exciting?”

Ella’s face suddenly fell.  “Oh... no.  I promised not to say anything....”

At that moment, Dan walked into the lab.  “Hey, Ella, do you have the blood analysis results on the Kwon case yet?”

“Oh yeah, here.”  She handed a neat stack of papers to him, but didn’t let them go when he tried to take them.  Her face brightened.  “Oh.  My.  God.  You guys, I have a great idea!”

The dark-haired man’s mouth dropped open as he cast a quick glance at Chloe.  “Why am I suddenly afraid?”

“No, it’s going to be great!” Ella said as she grabbed his forearm and shook it.  “Dan, I can totally use your help because Chloe... well, I’m not sure she’s good at charades.”

“Charades?”  His face lit up with excitement.  “I love charades!”

The blonde detective frowned at the lab tech.  “Hey! I’ll have you know I’m excellent at charades.”  Then she squinted at her.  “But... why are we talking about Charades?”

Ella beamed at them both.  “Trust me. I promised not to say anything, and Charades isn’t technically saying anything, so I’m not breaking my word.”  She looked back and forth between them.  “Ready?”

Dan clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously.  “Yeah....  Let’s go.”

“Okay.”  The dark-haired woman held up three fingers.

“Three words,” Dan said at the same time Chloe rolled her eyes and said, “This is ridiculous.”

Ella held up one finger.

The tall man grinned.  “First word.”

Pointing her index fingers to the sky, she put them to the sides of her head.

“Bull!”  Dan cried.  “Snail!  Catfish!”

Chloe gave Dan a puzzled look.  “Catfish?”

He shrugged at her.

Ella slapped her palm on her forehead and made the gesture again.

The blonde detective cocked her head.  “Cow?  Goat?”

The lab tech pointed at her, then waved at her to continue.

“What?  Uh... baby goat?  Kid? Billy goat?  Doe?”

Ella waved her hands in a negative gesture, then put her index fingers to the sides of her head again.

“Ram?”  Dan squinted at her.  “Oryx?  Chameleon!”  When she and Chloe gave him incredulous looks, he said, “What?  It can be a chameleon --”

The lab tech waved her arms to negate everything.  Grabbing a fork from a drawer, she made a shoveling motion with it, throwing imaginary items over her shoulder.

“What the....”  The dark-haired man glanced at Chloe, then back at Ella.  “What’s that supposed to be?”

The detective bit her lower lip.  “Shovel?”

The lab tech held up the fork and shook it emphatically.

“Shovel?  Fork?  Pitchfork!” Dan cried.

Nodding vigorously, Ella held the fork between her teeth as she put her index fingers to the sides of her head again.

“Pitchfork?  And goat?”  Chloe’s face suddenly cleared.  “Oh... the Devil.  Lucifer.”

At Ella’s enthusiastic nod, Dan turned to his ex-wife and said, “I was just about to say that.”

The dark-haired woman held up two fingers.

“Second word.”  Dan turned to Chloe with a wink.  “I’ll get this one for sure.”

Ella pointed to her chest.

“Boob!”

She slapped her hand over her eyes.

Chloe lifted an eyebrow at him.  “Seriously, Dan?”

He turned quizzical eyes to both women.  “What?  It’s a good guess!”

“Oh my god, Dan, I thought you said you were good at this!” cried the lab tech.

“I  _ am _ good at this!  You’re just not a good pantomimer!”

“Do  _ not _ malign my pantomiming skills!  I’ll have you know I was Champion of the Charade Club in college --”

“Children!”  Chloe eyed them both.  “Can we get on with this?”

Glowering at Dan, Ella pointed again to her chest, then touched her thumbs and her fingertips together.  She tilted her hands until her fingers were pointing down.

Chloe’s brows furrowed.  “Heart? Lucifer’s heart?”

Ella held up three fingers, then pointed at the blonde detective.

She cocked her head.  “Lucifer’s heart me?  I don’t understand --”

“Lucifer loves you!” crowed Dan, then smiled broadly at Ella.  “See?  I told you I was good at this!”

Chloe didn’t even hear him.  Her mind reeled at the revelation.  Lucifer loved her...?  It hardly seemed possible.  He hadn’t ever shown her any indication of love, and the one time she thought their relationship was growing, he had run off to Las Vegas.  She pursed her lips and shook her head vigorously.  “You must be mistaken.  Lucifer doesn’t love me.”

“Are you kidding me?”  Ella cried.  “He’s dying...  _ dying _ inside, but he doesn’t want to ruin your relationship with Lieutenant Pierce because he wants you to be happy.”

“But... but surely he would have said something...?”

The lab tech shook her head.  “You know how important his method acting is to him... and as Lucifer always says, the Devil is all about free will.”  She smiled.  “He wants  _ you _ to be the one to choose  _ him, _ because he doesn’t want to influence your free will.  It’s so romantic!”

Dan nodded.  “Sounds like love to me.  That man cares for you, Chloe.  I saw his face when you were poisoned.  He somehow got the antidote, although I have no idea how, since the formula was in Professor Carlisle’s head and he was dead... but he got it.”

The lab tech’s face fell as she turned to the blonde detective.  “But you’re dating the lieutenant.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Dan asked, “Are you, Chloe?”

Her heart pounding in her chest, Chloe stood up straight.  A sense of euphoria swept through her, making her feel so light that she thought she would fly away.  Lucifer really loved her?  She couldn’t believe it!  But then she remembered him taking a knife in the shoulder for her, and heard his soft voice saying, “It’s not me I was worried about, Detective.”

Oh god....  Her legs grew weak and they almost buckled under her, but she managed to stay on her feet.  He had loved her all this time, but he had never said anything.  She had gone and dated Marcus because she had thought he hadn’t cared...!  What a fool she had been!

“I broke it off with Marcus before I came here.”  She looked at both of her friends.  “I have to see Lucifer.”

Dan smiled.  “We’ll cover for you, and don’t worry about Trixie.  I’ll take care of her tonight.  Go.”

Ella clasped her hands together and jumped up and down.  “Yes, go!”

With a huge smile on her face, Chloe thrust the file in her hand to Dan, and strode out of the room.  She fretted about running into Marcus as she gathered her things, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn’t in his office.  Trying not to run, she headed out of the precinct and to the parking garage.

 

 

 


	3. Confrontation with Pierce

 

 

“You know she doesn’t love you.”

Lucifer closed his eyes as Maze’s sharp voice echoed around the penthouse.  He should have known that the demon would be waiting for him when he got home.  It seemed as if that was all she did these days -- she hung around LUX or the penthouse, taunting him with the fact that Chloe didn’t love him.  Her words were like a knife to the chest, and she took great pleasure in twisting the blade.

Of course, he couldn’t expect any less from her.  She was a demon, and torture was what she did best.  He had just never expected her to turn on him in this manner... and her betrayal added to the ache inside of him.

He turned to look at his demon standing in the living room, dressed in black leather.  The late afternoon sun was pouring through the windows behind her, creating a halo around her head.  He snorted. Well, angel she definitely was not.  At his intent look, she sauntered up to him and leaned on the bar as he downed his Scotch.  Pouring himself another shot, the Devil hoped that she couldn’t see the fine trembling in his hands.  “I’ve had a bad day, Maze.  I’m in no mood to hear this now.”

“Yeah, well, you’re going to hear it.”  She smiled, revealing her razor-sharp teeth.  “Chloe is with Cain now.  When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you can never have what you desire?”

Body tensing, Lucifer shot her a warning glance.  “Tread carefully, Maze.”

“Or what?  You gonna go cry in the corner?  Boo hoo, Chloe doesn’t love me anymore.  Boo hoo hoo.”  She gave him a poke in the chest.  “You don’t scare me.”

After swallowing his drink in one gulp, he slammed the old fashioned glass down onto the bar.  Glass flew everywhere as it shattered against the marble counter.  Looking sharply at the demon, the fallen angel felt satisfaction at seeing her take a step back.  “Don’t push me.”

She swallowed and lifted her chin, stepping forward once more to get nose to nose with him.  “When are you going to start listening to me, for once?  Come on, Lucifer.  Let’s leave this place and go home.  There’s absolutely nothing for you here.  She doesn’t love you.  She will never,  _ ever _ love you --”

Something inside the fallen angel snapped.  Maze’s words were the last straw, especially after having to watch Chloe with Pierce.  He’d had an absolutely crappy day -- as had his car -- and he was sick and tired of hearing how the Detective didn’t love him.  His fingers tightened on the back of one of the bar stools and he thrust it behind him.  It flew across the room and crashed into a glass end table, shattering it.

“Enough!”

The demon jumped at his actions.  Lucifer gave her a feral grin as his eyes glowed a fiery red.  “You don’t get it, do you, Maze?  You keep telling me to take you home, to leave the Detective because she doesn’t love me.  What you don’t understand is that I  _ can’t. _  I can’t leave her, not while she’s with Cain.”

Her brows furrowing, Maze backed away as her face lost all color.  “I don’t... I don’t understand.”

A harsh laugh tainted with madness escaped him as he pursued her, until she bumped into the wall.  “No, of course not.  You don’t understand.  How could you?  And perhaps you never will.”  Towering over her, he bared his teeth.  “So let me make this perfectly clear.  As long as the Detective’s life is in danger, I will not leave her side.  Not for you, not for anyone.  Cain is a dangerous, manipulative human -- the First Murderer.  If you think I will leave her in his arms, you are sadly mistaken.”

The demon’s mouth fell open as she looked at him like a gaping fish.  “But... but you  _ have _ to want to go home by now!  I’ve been working so hard at.....”

His eyes narrowing at her unfinished sentence, Lucifer lifted an eyebrow at her.  “At what?”

Maze clenched her teeth and shoved his chest.  “Damn it, Lucifer. You should have told me this earlier!  Weeks earlier!  Then I wouldn’t have....”  She grimaced as her gaze fell away from his.

“Wouldn’t have what?”  The red glow left his eyes as his mouth tightened.  “What did you do, Maze?”

“I wouldn’t have been trying to... I wouldn’t have wasted my time!”  Tears sprang to her eyes.  “Dammit!”  Shoving past him, she rushed to the elevator.

Lucifer let her go.  He wasn’t sure what had just happened, or what Maze had been trying to say, but he shrugged off the strange conversation.  Taking a deep breath, he swung his gaze to the broken end table by the armchair.  He’d have to clean that up.

He was picking up the largest shards of glass from the floor when he heard the elevator ding.   _ Lovely. _  Maze, again.  Hopefully she wasn’t going to continue ranting on about how Chloe didn’t love him -- he’d heard enough of that for one day.

Straightening, he said as he turned, “I’m in no mood for more talk, Maze --”  He broke off when he saw who stood there: Pierce.  As the man walked toward him, Lucifer’s mouth twisted.  “Well, this is a surprise.  What can I do for you?”

“You can go to Hell,” he said, right before he slammed his fist into the Devil’s face.

Caught by surprise, the fallen angel fell to the floor.  Blinking up at his visitor, he cried, “Bloody hell!  What’d you do that for?”

“I am sick and tired of you getting in the way of my plans!”  Pierce lifted his foot and brought it down hard onto Lucifer’s chest.

The Devil caught his boot and tossed the tall man away from him, sending him into the coffee table with a crash.  As the fallen angel scrambled to his feet, his opponent tackled him, and they both fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

“Why won’t you leave?!” Pierce yelled, punctuating each word with a punch to Lucifer’s face.  Glaring at his attacker, the fallen angel caught the lieutenant’s wrist when he would have punched him again.

“Why won’t  _ you?” _  He kicked the human away, sending him flying into a bookshelf, and pulled himself to his feet.  “I have no idea what’s gotten you so upset --”

The man tottered to his feet -- bloody, but alive.  “You.  You keep ruining my plans.”

“What, your plans to die?”  Lucifer gave an incredulous laugh.  “Have you forgotten that I was the one trying to help you end your life?”

Pierce spat the blood from his mouth.  “But you failed, didn’t you?  And now that I’m finally on the verge of getting what I want, you’re getting in my way!”

“How so?  I’ve done nothing --”  All signs of amusement fell from the Devil’s face.  “Wait -- what you want?  This... this involves the Detective, doesn’t it?”

Pierce glared at him.  “I’m not going to let you ruin my plan -- I’ve worked too hard for this!”

“Worked too hard for --”  Lucifer’s mouth dropped open as realization dawned on him.  “You... you’ve been manipulating the Detective... toying with her feelings!”

At the sight of Pierce’s grin, the fallen angel’s heart started to pound, and his vision telescoped until all he could see was the bloody wanker’s face.  With a roar, he threw himself at the man.  No one toyed with the Detective on his watch -- no one!

The two men grappled, then proceeded to throw each other across the room and into furniture.  They broke bookshelves, tables and chairs -- even the piano was destroyed. Although Pierce was immortal, the Devil did his best to kill him -- only to have the bastard rise to his feet over and over again.

The fallen angel wished that Dad would remove the curse so he could kill the bloody sod, but at least he had his angelic constitution.  Pierce was a skillful fighter, but he was still a human, so his blows didn’t hurt much.  At least, not until Lucifer took a particularly hard blow to the face that knocked him to the floor.

Bewildered, he shook his head to clear it and wondered what had happened.  His ears were ringing, his vision was blurred, and there was a metallic taste in his mouth.  Bloody hell, was he bleeding?  His heart suddenly pounded in his chest as a chill ran down his spine.  That meant that Chloe was near....

 

 

________________________________________

  
  


 

Driving to LUX, Chloe recalled what Dan and Ella had told her, and it sent her mind racing with excitement.  Lucifer loved her!  She could hardly believe it, but as she looked back over their partnership, she saw now that he had always helped her, supported her, and even protected her.  Although he had never said the words, it was clear by his actions that he cared deeply for her.  Yes, there were countless times when he acted like a five-year old child, but when push came to shove, he was always right there for her.

Or... he had been, until this whole fiasco with Marcus.  Wincing, she remembered how her partner had come to her, spouting some nonsense about the lieutenant being a murderer named Cain.  And although she didn’t believe that Marcus had killed anyone in cold blood, she now saw that Lucifer had thought he was dangerous, and had been trying to warn her in his weird way.  But what had she done?  She had yelled at him that he needed to get his act together, or else their partnership was over.  Now that she knew how her partner truly felt, she cringed at her own harsh words.  Why hadn’t she realized that his crazy, self-destructive behavior had been because he loved her?  She wanted to kick herself in the rear.

Pulling up to the front of LUX, she handed her keys to the valet and hurried inside the club.  As she jogged down the staircase, she scanned the area for her partner’s tall figure among the patrons, but didn’t see him.  Since it was the late afternoon, the club wasn’t packed, but there were still a fair amount of early drinkers there for happy hour.  Once at the bottom of the stairs, she weaved her way through the crowd as she searched for Lucifer.

She didn’t see him on the dance floor, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around somewhere.  Seeing Maze at the bar, Chloe approached her.  “Hey, Maze, do you know where Lucifer is?”

The bounty hunter looked her up and down, her eyes narrowed, before she shrugged.  “Yeah, I know.”

When she didn’t say anything more, Chloe took a deep breath for patience.  “Well, where is he? In the back? Or upstairs?”

The corner of Maze’s mouth quirked up.  “Upstairs.”

The detective let out a relieved sigh and smiled at her old roommate.  “Thanks, Maze.”  As she strode toward the elevator, the bounty hunter fell into step beside her.  Puzzled, Chloe glanced at her.  “You don’t have to come with me --”

“Yeah, I do.”  Maze’s smile widened, although it looked more like a snarl to Chloe.  “I have business upstairs.”

Shrugging, the blonde woman pressed the call button for the elevator.  A strange prickly feeling came over the back of her neck as she waited for the car to arrive.  Glancing at the bounty hunter, she wondered why her instincts were telling her something was wrong.  Maze wouldn’t hurt her -- they had been roommates, after all.  So why...?

Perplexed, she rode up in silence beside the leather-clad woman and watched the floors go by on the display panel.

 

 

________________________________________

  
  


 

Pierce stood over Lucifer, his eyes glittering with suppressed rage.  “So... meeting Chloe behind my back, huh?  I should have known you wouldn’t go quietly.”

Lucifer spat the blood from his mouth as he glared up at him.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t believe you.”  The human grinned.  “But it doesn’t matter -- I’ll just send you to Hell before she gets here.  Do yourself a favor and stay there.”

Pain exploded in the Devil’s side as the tall man kicked him in the ribs.  Coughing, he tried to roll away, but Pierce straddled him and slammed his fist into his face over and over.  Lucifer struggled to block the blows, but his opponent merely laughed.  Grabbing the fallen angel’s hair, the lieutenant slammed the Devil’s head against the tile.  There was a sickening crack as agony burst in the back of Lucifer’s head.  For a moment he thought he was going to lose consciousness, but he gritted his teeth and hung on as nausea overwhelmed him.

“Not so tough now, are you?”  Pierce leaned close, his breath fanning over the prone man’s face.  “Mooning over Chloe... you’re so pathetic.  Do you really think she could ever love a screw-up like you?”

Heat flooded Lucifer’s face at his words.  Unbidden, the memory of his siblings laughing at him rose in his mind.   _ Clumsy oaf.  Pathetic joke of an angel. _  Gritting his teeth, he shook his head.  “I’m not a screw-up --”

“Are you kidding me?  You can’t do anything right.  Even Chloe thinks you’re a loser.”

He shook his head.   _ No -- _

Pierce’s laughter echoed around the room.  “You’re the  _ Devil. _  Did you  _ really _ think she could ever love a monster like you?”

Lucifer’s heart stuttered in his chest as all of his insecurities washed over him.  Chloe was goodness and light, and he was indeed a monster.  He had killed his own brother, after all.  What made him any better than Pierce?  And not only that, he had hurt the Detective time and again.  He could still see the pain on her face when he had come back from Las Vegas with Candy on his arm.  Even more recently, she had accused him of not trusting her when he had taken the Sinnerman to his hillside home.  She had been so angry....  No, she could never love him.  He had brought her nothing but pain and sorrow.

“Do you want to know what she called the necklace you gave her?  A _ joke. _ ”

_ A joke? _  Agony swept through Lucifer, far greater than the physical pain his body was experiencing.  It couldn’t be true.  Chloe would never say anything like that.  She wouldn’t --

He hadn’t even realized he had spoken aloud until Pierce laughed -- a harsh ugly sound.  “Believe it, Lucifer.  She called it that because she thinks you’re a pathetic  _ joke. _  Do you know why she’s not wearing your necklace anymore?  Because she didn’t want to be reminded of what a worthless moron you are!”

The physical pain as Pierce punched him again was nothing compared to the mental torment the man was putting him through.  The fallen angel tried to protect his head from the blows that rained down on him, as his mind struggled to stop the horrible thoughts racing through his brain.  Chloe thought his gift to her was a joke?  Didn’t she realize how important that bullet was to him?  How the necklace symbolized how deeply he felt for her?

No... of course not.  He  _ was _ a pathetic joke, a worthless moron.  Why would such a strong, intelligent woman even look at him?  He was a monster, through and through.  Loving Chloe had been a pipe dream.  Tears burned in his eyes.  He was a fool.

And yet, even now, his feelings for her persisted.  She would be so hurt when she found out that Pierce had been manipulating her for his own purposes!  Outrage burned within Lucifer at the thought of this man treating Chloe like a puppet, a tool to be used -- Chloe, who had never done anything to deserve such treatment.  When Pierce finally paused in his assault, the Devil pried open his swollen black eyes and glared at his opponent.  “Did... did you ever love the Detective at all?”

The man snorted.  “She’s merely a means to an end.  I don’t care who I have to hurt in order to get what I want.”  Grinning, he picked up a sharp piece of broken wood and held it over his head. “And now it’s time for you to go back to Hell....”

 

 


	4. Making Things Right

 

 

When the elevator doors opened, Chloe was shocked to see the state the penthouse was in.  Furniture was overturned, the piano was destroyed, and bookcases were broken. Speechless, she could only gape at the damage as she stepped out of the elevator.  The sound of flesh hitting flesh caught her attention, and she spied Marcus on the floor, pounding on something -- or someone.  Her heart skipped a beat.  Oh god, it could only be Lucifer --

Before Chloe could yell at him to stop, Maze hooked her arm around her neck from behind, and shoved a knife in her face.  The bounty hunter’s soft chuckle in her ear sent chills racing up and down the detective’s spine.  “Don’t move a muscle, Chloe.  I’ll slit you from ear to ear before you can even blink.”

Her heart pounding, the blonde woman tried to keep her voice steady.  “Maze, what are you doing?”

“Getting what I want.”

Lucifer’s voice, thick and full of pain, sounded far too loud in the quiet stillness that abruptly settled over the penthouse.  “Did... did you ever love the Detective at all?”

Marcus snorted.  “She’s merely a means to an end.  I don’t care who I have to hurt in order to get what I want.”

A means to an end?  Chloe’s mind reeled.  Marcus hadn’t loved her?  He had charmed her, gotten her to fall in love with him, just because he wanted something?  The blood drained out of her face as she squeezed her eyes shut.  Lucifer had tried to warn her that Marcus wasn’t all as he seemed -- why hadn’t she listened?

Another laugh sounded in her ear as Maze tightened her grip.  “Well... it seems we’re all finding out things we’d rather not know today.”

Opening her eyes, Chloe caught sight of Marcus holding a broken piece of wood over his head.

“And now it’s time for you to go back to Hell....”

_ No!  No no no! _

“Cain!” Maze yelled.  “You’re not killing my ride home!”

Marcus froze, then turned to look at them with exaggerated slowness.  He glanced down at his victim, then back at them, before rising to his feet.  “Maze, what are you doing?”

She snorted.  “What does it look like I’m doing?  I’m going home.”

Battered and looking worse for wear, the tall man approached, picking through the wreckage of the living room while holding out his hand in a placating gesture.  His eyes shifted from Maze to Chloe, then back again.  “This isn’t what we discussed.”

“Discussed,” the bounty hunter scoffed.   _ “We _ didn’t  _ discuss _ anything.  You  _ told _ me what you wanted.  Why should everyone get what they want, except me?  Well, I’m the one holding all the cards now, and I say I’m going home!”

Pierce glared at her.  “If you had just followed the plan --”

“Your plan sucked!  These past few weeks, I’ve been following your instructions and telling Lucifer that Chloe hates him --  _ for nothing!” _

A chill ran up and down Chloe’s spine.  Why had Maze been telling Lucifer that she hated him?  Swallowing convulsively at the lump in her throat, she tried to control the sudden nausea sweeping over her.

The bounty hunter tightened her grip.  “It turns out he won’t leave LA as long as you’re with her, because he has to  _ protect _ her from  _ you.” _  She shoved her knife under the detective’s jaw, pricking the skin.  “So I’m changing the plan.”

The air caught in Chloe’s lungs, and she tilted her head back to get away from the blade.  A calmness blanketed her mind, quieting all of the chaotic thoughts rebounding in her head and draping her in a cool composure.  She had no idea why Marcus and Maze had tried to force Lucifer to leave town, but she could deal with that later -- right now she had to stay alive.

So what were her options?  Maze was a skilled fighter -- there was no way she could beat her in a hand-to-hand fight.  Her gun? At her side -- as soon as she reached for it, her roommate would know what she was going for.  No, she was stuck.  That left negotiation.

As Chloe opened her mouth to try to reason with the bounty hunter, her eye caught on a movement across the room.  Lucifer staggered to his feet, his face battered and bloody.

“Release the Detective, Maze.”

The arm around Chloe’s neck tightened.  “No. You’re taking me home.”

He made his way closer, until he stood next to Marcus.  Up close, he looked as if someone had thrown him in a meat grinder -- he was almost unrecognizable with all the swelling in his face.  At the sight of his injuries, a sharp pain speared Chloe’s chest.  How she wanted to plant her fist in Marcus’s face for what he had done to her partner!

Lucifer gave a half laugh as he tried to smile, although it looked more like a grimace to her.  “Well, killing the Detective certainly isn’t going to get you what you desire.  If you harm one hair on her head, I will  _ never _ take you home -- I give you my word on that.”

Maze’s voice rose.  “But -- but you have to!”

Marcus stepped forward with a growl.  “I’m not going to let you ruin everything --”

Lucifer blocked the lieutenant’s path and glared at him.  “No -- you’ve done quite enough.”  He turned to the bounty hunter, his face gentling.  “Mazikeen, come now, you don’t want this.  Put down the knife, and we’ll talk.”

“What’s there to talk about?  As long as you love her, you won’t leave!  And I need to go home!” Maze cried.  “No one puts me first here!  I hate being hurt, feeling pain.  I’m not supposed to feel that!  And thanks to  _ her, _ I’ll never have you again, because she will  _ always _ come first!”

Chloe’s heart broke at the pain in her friend’s voice.  Racking her brain, she struggled to find the right words that would diffuse the situation.

His face pinched and ashen, Lucifer shot a glance at Chloe, then looked back at Maze.  “While the Detective is important to me, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.  We’ve been together a long time.  What I feel for you is different from what I feel for her.  You are in a class of your own, Maze.  You will always be my best demon... and my friend.”

For a long moment, no one moved -- then Chloe felt the knife ease a fraction from her throat.  Biting her lower lip, she struggled to find her voice.  “Maze, please....  Look, Trixie loves you.  She idolizes you -- she wants to be you.  And I care deeply about you.  You’re family, Maze.  We all love you.  We’ll support you, help you get through whatever issues you have.  Please....”

The knife blade came back up.  “You’re just saying that, so you can get away,” the bounty hunter snarled in her ear.

Chloe shook her head a fraction.  “No, I’m not. I never wanted you to leave.  I love you.  Trixie loves you --”

The pressure of the knife against her skin increased.  “I’m a demon.  You can’t love me --”

“But we do.”  The blonde detective swallowed hard and steadied her voice.  “We do, Maze.  Move back in with us.  We want -- we need you back.  Please come home.”

The knife eased again, more this time.  When Maze spoke, her voice sounded shocked.  “Home?”

The detective managed a tiny nod.  “Your home is with us.  You’re family and we love you.  Come home.”

For what felt like an eternity, no one moved or spoke.  It was as if Heaven itself was holding its breath... and then the blade finally fell away from Chloe’s throat.

“Dammit!” Maze snarled as she shoved the detective from her and stormed to the middle of the wrecked living room.  Righting one of the armchairs, the bounty hunter threw herself in it and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as all the strength left her legs in a rush.  For a second she thought she was going to collapse, but she managed to steady herself.  Lucifer surged forward to catch her, but Marcus reached her first, wrapping an arm around her waist.  “I got you.”

Nausea flooded her as she yanked herself out of his grip.  “Don’t touch me.”

“Chloe --”

“No.”  Looking up, she saw her partner watching both of them through narrowed eyes, with his mouth pulled into a tight line.  “Lucifer --”

“Let me explain.”  Marcus grabbed her arm, then turned to the other man.  “Give us a minute, will you?”

“And leave her alone with you?”  He snorted.  “You must think me daft.”

The lieutenant took a step toward Lucifer, his fist raised, but Chloe held him back.  “No.”  Turning to her partner, she said, “I’ll be okay.”

His mouth fell open.  “But he’s --”

“Please.”  With imploring eyes she gazed at him, hoping he’d understand that she wanted to confront Marcus alone.

Lucifer’s expression immediately closed up.  He gave a curt nod before walking through the debris field toward the living room.  Taking a deep breath, Chloe turned to the lieutenant, only to see him grinning at Lucifer’s receding back.  When he realized she was scowling at him, his face took on a penitent expression.

“Look, about the plan that Maze and I were talking about....  It was a secret sting operation that we were working on --”

She couldn’t hear the rest of his explanation over the roaring in her ears.  Before she could stop herself, she slammed her fist into his face.  As he reeled back, clutching his eye, she stepped in and delivered another blow, this time to his jaw.  She stood tall as he tripped over his own feet and fell backward onto the floor.

Wiping the blood from his mouth, Marcus glared at her.  “What the hell did you do that for?!”

“You bastard!”  Her face grew mottled as her heart thumped a fierce tattoo in her chest.  “Do you think I’m stupid?!”

He gaped at her.  “Of course not --”

“Then why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not --”

Before she could stop herself, Chloe kicked him in the ribs.  Not normally one prone to violence, a part of her was shocked, while another part took immense satisfaction in hearing his pain-filled grunt.  Kneeling down, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and snarled into his face.  “I heard what you said earlier.”

He blinked owlishly at her.  “Oh... uh... you mean about me wanting to send Lucifer to Hell?  It was just a figure of speech --”

She rolled her eyes.  He couldn’t be  _ that _ obtuse, could he?  Taking a deep breath, she struggled to suppress the urge to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze.  “No,” she said through gritted teeth.  “Before that.  Where you said I was  _ merely a means to an end. _  You used me... manipulated me.  You toyed with my feelings, just to get whatever the hell it was you wanted.”

Marcus’s eyes widened, then he shrugged.  “Oh... that. I didn’t mean it.  I was just teasing Lucifer a bit --”

“Stop lying to me!”  She thrust him back onto the floor, then sat back on her heels and glared at him.  “What the hell is wrong with you?  Are you a pathological liar, or something?”  Her neck corded as she leaned close to him and let him see the rage on her face.  “Both Lucifer and Maze called you Cain.  Who are you, really?”

His eyes grew so big that the whites were visible around his irises.  Then he chuckled, but it had a nervous edge to it.  “You know who I am -- I’m your boyfriend.”

Saliva rushed into her mouth at his words, and her stomach heaved.  Swallowing hard, she forced the nausea back.  “No you’re not, you sick bastard.  Like I told you earlier -- we’re done.”

Marcus’s voice took on a cajoling tone as he smiled charmingly at her.  “Come on, don’t be like that....”

His expression made Chloe’s nausea return tenfold, and she was struck with the urge to hit him again.  Her hands shook from the force of her emotions as she balled them into fists.  “Shut up!  You have no right to even speak to me!  You twisted my feelings around, manipulated me, drove a wedge between me and my partner, all for your own selfish desires.  Well, you can go play your sick games elsewhere, because I’m through with you.  Period.”

He lay there, gaping at her, as she stood up.  “You can’t mean that --”

She straightened and lifted her chin.  “I can and I do.  Goodbye, Marcus.  Go back into whatever hole you crawled out of.”

Scrambling to his feet, the lieutenant held out his hands in supplication.  “You don’t understand!  Chloe, I need you --”

Her lips pursed.  “Well, _ I  _ don’t need  _ you. _  I suggest you get that transfer you wanted months ago.”

“But you love me --”

She saw red.  Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she swung him around and pushed him toward the elevator, punctuating each word with a shove against his chest.  “I do  _ not  _ love you, you asshole!  Now get out of here before I shoot you!”

When she jabbed her finger on the call button, Chloe was relieved to see the elevator doors open right away.  With a final push, she thrust Marcus into the car.  He hit the back of the elevator with a thump, his eyes shocked and full of disbelief.  “You can’t do this.  You love me, and I need you --”

God, what was  _ wrong _ with him?  She looked him dead in the eye and said coldly, “Goodbye, Marcus.”

When the elevator doors closed on him, the detective let out a sigh of relief and felt the tension drain from her body.  Now that the self-centered bastard was gone, she felt as if she’d had a giant weight lifted off of her shoulders.  Next came the hard part -- talking to Lucifer....

A slow clapping had her turning around.  Maze stood in the living room, wearing a wide grin, as she applauded her.  Behind her stood Lucifer, watching with hooded eyes and an enigmatic expression.

The bounty hunter looked her up and down with approval.  “Wow, Chloe.  I didn’t believe you had it in you.  I’m impressed.”

Heat flowed into the blonde woman’s cheeks as her eyes sought Lucifer’s, but his gaze slid away from hers to rest on Maze.  Chloe’s heart gave a painful squeeze, but she couldn’t really blame him.  She had yelled at him about Marcus, when he had been right the entire time.  Her face burned at the memory.  Her hand reached for the necklace he had given her, only to remember that she had taken it off.  She wanted to sink into the floor.

Lucifer let out a sigh as he turned to the bounty hunter.  “Well, now that the bloody wanker is out of the picture, I can take you home.  We’ll leave this place. Come.”  He held out his hand to her.

At his words, Chloe’s chest tightened and her breathing grew shallow.  Why did his words sound so... final?  If he took Maze back to her home -- wherever it was -- he’d surely return... wouldn’t he?   A sudden chill swept through her.  Shivering, she gripped her hands together until her knuckles turned white, while she waited to see what her roommate would do.

Maze reached for the tall man’s hand, hesitated, then shifted her eyes to Chloe.  For a long moment the dark-haired woman studied her, then finally dropped her hand.  “No.”

“No?”  Lucifer’s eyebrows rose.  “But you wanted to leave --”

_ “No.”  _  The bounty hunter grimaced as she looked at him.  “I’m... not proud of what I did, and having you take me back isn’t going to solve anything.  Besides....”  Straightening, she caught Chloe’s gaze once again.  “I have a new home... one that I want to go back to.”  She thrust out her chest and grinned.  “I have people who need me.”

A pained look crossed his face.  “I... see.”

An awkward silence fell over the room.  Maze started to walk away, then turned back to him.  “Listen, about what I’ve been telling you... that was Cain’s idea.”

Lucifer squeezed his eyes shut.  “Well, it turns out you were right.”  Whirling on his heel, he walked out onto the balcony.

For a moment the bounty hunter stared after him, then strode toward Chloe, stopping only when she was abreast of her.  The dark-haired woman’s face was expressionless as she pressed the elevator call button.  “I don’t know if you still care for Lucifer, but he could use someone to clean up his face.”

“I’ll take care of him.”  Chloe bit her lower lip.  “Maze... what kind of plan did you have with Marcus?  Why did you tell Lucifer that I didn’t love him?  Why did Marcus want to kill him?”

“It’s complicated, and it doesn’t matter now.”  The bounty hunter looked across the room at the tall man on the balcony.  “Cain... Pierce -- whatever you want to call him -- and I put Lucifer through the ringer.  He’s hurting.  Just remember that when you talk to him.”

“I will.”  Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So I’ll see you at home?”

Maze’s expression softened.  “Home... yeah. I’ll get my gear.  I have to make things right with your little human.”  And with that, she stepped into the elevator and left.

Chloe’s gaze returned to the tall man leaning on the balcony railing.  Daylight had taken on a golden cast as the sun headed for the horizon, limning Lucifer’s silhouette in gold.  His shoulders drooped, and his head hung low. The sight of his defeated posture made her heart hurt.

Straightening her spine, she took a deep breath and picked through the rubble until she made her way outside.  It was time for her to apologize, and she didn’t expect him to make it easy for her.

“Lucifer?”

He didn’t turn at the sound of her voice -- he just continued to look out over the city.  “I’m surprised you’re still here, Detective.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”  As Chloe took a step closer, he sidled away from her.  That gesture sent a bolt of pain through her chest.  God, he had never done  _ that _ before....  Taking a spot beside him, she leaned on the railing and glanced at him.  His eyes looked almost swollen shut, and his face was bruised and bloodied.  Her chest tightened at the sight of his wounds, and she struggled to keep a calm voice.  “Let me help you get cleaned up --”

He laughed -- a bitter, pain-filled sound.  “Please -- spare me the pretense, Detective.  There’s no need for you to feign concern.”

Her mouth fell open.  “I’m not feigning --”

His face became all harsh lines and planes as he spoke through clenched teeth.  “Well, I certainly can’t believe that you suddenly care.  So what -- you pity me, is that it?!”  His expression crumpled for an instant before it hardened.  “I can take that from anyone else, but not from you, Detective.”  His voice broke as he turned away.  “Not from you.”

Tears burned in Chloe’s eyes at his agony.  He was suffering so much....  It reminded her of the time when he had looked like a homeless magician -- pain practically radiated from him.  Straightening, she tried to catch his eye.  “Lucifer, I don’t pity you.”  She reached for his shoulder, but faltered.  Touching him now would only upset him further.  “Please... can we talk?”

He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cigarette case.  Chloe saw his hands shaking as he fumbled for a cigarette.  Jamming it into his mouth, he tucked the case away and pulled out his lighter.  When it refused to light, he cursed, pocketed the lighter, and hurled the cigarette over the railing.  Whirling on her, his eyes glittering, he barked, “Why?  You think I’m a joke.”

Heat flooded into her cheeks at the unfair statement and her chest tightened.  “I do not!  How the hell could you ever think that?!”

Lucifer glared at her.  “Pierce said that you called the necklace I gave you a joke!”

For a moment she stared at him, wondering how in the world he could have gotten that idea, but then her words to Marcus came back to her.   _ Oh god.... _  She  _ had _ said that.  Her face losing all color, she scrambled to explain.  “I.. that wasn’t... I didn’t mean --”

His back became ramrod straight as his expression grew shuttered.  “So... it’s true.  I can see from your face that you did.  A joke... that’s what you think of me.  Did you know that your necklace... was the first gift I ever gave anyone?”  He let out a rueful chuckle.  “In all my life, I’d never been moved to give anyone a gift... except with you.”

His eyes grew sad.  “That bullet was special... it meant a lot to me.  It was the first time I’d ever been shot.  I kept it because I knew when you shot me that you were special... but you think it’s a joke.”  Throwing back his head, he laughed, but the sound was filled with agony.  “The joke’s on me, though, isn’t it?  All this time I had been hoping....  I’m a fool.  I mean nothing to you.”  He backed away from her, his teeth bared as his eyes glimmered with tears.  “Well, laugh, Detective.  Laugh at your pathetic joke of a partner.”

_ Oh god, no -- _

“Lucifer, please listen --”

He shook his head.  “I thought you were different, but you’re just like all the rest.  Well, now I finally get it, Detective.  I realize that you don’t... care for me the same way I care for you.”  Another laugh tore out of him, the sound sending chills up and down Chloe’s spine.  “Why else would you think me a joke?  Look at Lucifer, the clumsy oaf, the pathetic joke of an angel.  A joke...”  His voice broke as he clutched his forehead in his hand.  “A joke....”  Backing away from her, he tripped over a potted plant and landed in an ungraceful heap on the balcony tile.

With a cry, Chloe reached for him, but he scrabbled backwards from her until his back rested against the side railing.  Tucking his knees up to his chest, he linked his hands around his legs and hid his face.  His shoulders shook as he sat there, not making a sound.

The detective’s heart shattered at the sight of her partner huddling in the corner, obviously in torment.  She had caused this -- her stupid fling with Marcus had broken him.  He had been trying so hard to warn her, but she hadn’t listened, had she?  She had no one to blame but herself for the state Lucifer was in.  Her stomach roiled and she swallowed hard at the thickness in her throat.  She had to make this right.

Squatting down, she edged toward him slowly, carefully, as if he was a wild animal trapped in a snare.  She kept her voice steady and calm as she spoke in a gentle tone. “Lucifer, I don’t think you’re pathetic, and I definitely don’t think you’re a joke.  Please, listen to me.  I told Marcus that I thought you gave it to me as a joke, because you said it was the only time I had penetrated you.  I had no idea of its significance.”  She bit her lower lip, wondering if he was even listening to what she was saying.  “Look, it means a lot to me that you’d keep it and make it into a necklace for me --”

His head came up at that, his face pulled into a grimace.  Her insides squeezed at the sight of his tears running down his cheeks.  “Don’t lie to me!”

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her insides.  His tears revealed how much he cared about her opinion, how much he cared about  _ her... _ .  But what had she done?  She had hurt him terribly by letting her head get turned by some pretty words from a man who ended up being a selfish bastard.

Exhaling slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that he was still glaring at her.  At his moment he looked like a hurt, abused child, striking out before he suffered even more.  She edged closer, but when she saw him press himself against the balcony railing, she stopped.

“I’m not lying.  Look into my eyes, Lucifer.  Please. I’m telling the truth.  I don’t think you’re a pathetic joke of a partner.  You’re the best partner I’ve ever had.  You’re a good man --”

The tall man’s snort interrupted her as he looked away and rubbed the wetness from his eyes.  “You called  _ him _ that.”

Chloe nodded as her face flushed.  “Yes I did, to my eternal shame, and I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life.”  She tilted her head to catch his eye.  “You were right about him, Lucifer, and I should have listened to you.  But in your case, it’s true -- you  _ are _ a good man.  You always have been.  You’ve been there for me since the beginning, supporting me, helping me...”  She swallowed hard.  “We share something special.   _ You’re _ something special.  Please...”

His chin rose and his eyes narrowed as he looked at her.  A long minute passed as they stared at each other, with her hopeful and him skeptical.  Finally, he spoke in a harsh voice that trembled from the force of his emotions.  “You’re only saying that because you found out Pierce was using you.  Well I refuse to be the rebound guy!”

“Oh, for crying out loud....”  Her patience wore thin. “You’re not the rebound guy -- Marcus was!”

He gaped at her.  “I... I beg your pardon?”

Oh god, she had never meant to say that.  Her face burning, she cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure.  Well, the cat was out of the bag -- it was time to face the music.  Sitting down on the tile in front of him, Chloe sighed and rubbed her forehead.  “Marcus was the rebound guy.”

“I... I don’t understand.”

She took a deep breath and gathered all her courage.  Remembering Ella’s words -- that Lucifer loved her -- was the only thing that gave her the strength to continue.  “Look, I know it was hard for you to see me date someone else.  But the only reason why I started dating him was because... because I didn’t think you cared.”

He looked stunned.  “How can you think I don’t care?”

Chloe rolled her eyes.  “You ran off to Vegas and got married after I was poisoned.  And more recently, you’ve been paying attention to everyone else, except me... so when Marcus asked me to go see the Axara concert with him, I went.”  She waved her hand in the air.  “It wasn’t because I wanted to be with him.  I mean, he does have nice arms, but...”  Her eyes dropped to the ground as heat flooded her cheeks.  “He wasn’t you.”

Lucifer’s face grew pink.  “Really?”

As she glanced up at the tone of his voice -- scared, but hopeful -- her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.  He sounded so insecure....

Then his face grew shuttered.  “But you wouldn’t listen to me about him.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she hung her head.  “And I’m sorry about that.  I should have listened.  It wasn’t until we were in a relationship that... well, Marcus started showing his true colors, and by then I was so invested I didn’t  _ want _ to see.”  She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.  What a fool she had been!  “I should have seen it, dammit.  I should have known....”

Silence fell between them.  All that Chloe could hear was the soft din of traffic far below them, and a bird singing somewhere.

When Lucifer finally spoke, his voice was kind.  “He was a master manipulator, Detective.  You couldn’t have known.”

And here he was, trying to make her feel better, when he should have been heaping recriminations upon her head.  Her insides clenched as she looked at him.  She didn’t deserve his kindness.

“But that’s the thing, Lucifer -- I’m a detective.  I  _ should _ have known!”  She gestured around her.  “I’m supposed to see these things!”

He gave her a steady look.  “You do, Detective. You do.”  With a sigh, he waved her over.  “Come here.”

For a moment Chloe hesitated, but when he beckoned again, the tension left her body and her heart swelled.  She went over and sat down beside him.  The feel of his shoulder against hers filled her with warmth, and heat rushed into her cheeks.

“You’re a good detective,” he said in a gentle voice.  “The best.  But C-- Pierce is very good at twisting things to get what he wants.  He fooled all of us.  Don’t blame yourself.”

She squeezed her eyes shut.  “You’re too good to me, Lucifer.  I should have known.  I should have  _ seen.” _  A harsh sigh escaped her as she rubbed her forehead with sharp, jerky movements.  “It will be a long time before I trust myself again.”

Chloe felt his gaze upon her before he finally said, “Well, I trust you.”

His simple words set her insides aglow.  Opening her eyes, she saw him looking at her with tenderness.  She blinked back tears as she smiled at him.  How lucky she was to have such a wonderful man in her life!  “You really are a good man, Lucifer.”

The small smile on his face fell away.  For a long minute he looked out at the Los Angeles skyline through the glass railing, then shook his head sadly.  “No, Detective.  I’m a monster.”

She gawked at him as her insides went cold.  He couldn’t possibly still think of himself in those terms, could he?  “No.  Don’t say that.  Don’t ever say that.”

His expression was heartbroken as he looked at her.  “I am, Detective.  I’m not worthy of you.  You should find yourself a better partner --”

_ “No.” _  Turning toward him, she gripped his hand tightly and squeezed.  “Lucifer, listen to me.  A monster is a man who uses other people, who manipulates them for his own purposes.”  She tried to catch his eye.  “You would never do that.”

Lucifer tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.  “No, but --”

“But nothing.”  After squeezing his hand again, Chloe gave it a little shake.  “You’re a good man, Lucifer.  You always have been.  Marcus was the real monster here, not you. Never you.”

His eyes widened as he gazed at her.  “Detective....”

“So don’t ever say you’re a monster, okay?”  She gave him a hard look to let him know she meant business, before she released her grip on his hand and settled back down beside him.  As she thought about how close she had come to ending up as a pawn in the lieutenant’s scheme, her legs grew weak and her mouth went dry.  Thank god for Lucifer!  “I’m really glad I saw Marcus’s true nature at the end.”

He blinked as he glanced down at her.  “Oh.... you mean when you overheard his conversation with me...?”

She shook her head.  “Oh no.... Before that.”

Her partner’s gaze sharpened on her face.  “Before...?”

“It became very clear today when your car got... um... bombed by the birds that he wasn’t who I thought he was.  His comments were cruel.”  Chloe took a deep breath and gave Lucifer a shaky smile.  “I ended things with Marcus earlier, at the precinct.  It’s why I came here. I wanted to....”  She broke off.  Wanted to... what?  Tell him she loved him?  The thought made her cringe.  Even though it was the truth, she was sure that it would have him running like a scared rabbit for the hills.

“... Just see you,” she finished lamely.

The tall man cocked his head at her and lifted an eyebrow.  “Just see me?”

“Just see you.”  She leaned her head against his shoulder.  “You’re a good partner, and you’ve always had my best interests at heart.  I’m sorry about Marcus, I’m sorry about the necklace, I’m sorry about... everything.  I promise I’ll put your gift back on and never take it off again.”

She felt his cheek rest against her hair.  “I would like that.”

They stayed there, leaning against each other for a few minutes more, before Chloe jerked upright, hitting his chin with her head.  She turned concerned eyes to him. “We can’t be sitting here like this!  Lucifer, we need to get you cleaned up.”

The tall man’s face softened as he looked at her.  “I don’t mind.”

“Well you should.  Your face looks like it’s been in a meat grinder --”

“No, I meant....  I don’t mind sitting here next to you.”

Heat burned in Chloe’s cheeks as she stared into his eyes and saw something that she had been longing to see for a long time... something that perhaps had been there all along, and she just hadn’t seen it.  She had been so blind, in more ways than one.  On impulse, she leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.  When she pulled back, she saw his eyes grow big, and his face took on a rosy hue.

“Detective...”  His voice was soft and surprised.

What was she  _ doing?! _  Blushing, she told herself his face was red because he was in a lot of pain, and of  _ course _ he was shocked at her behavior -- so was she!  Giving herself a shake, she told herself that the important thing was to clean up his injuries.  “Let’s go get some ice for your face.”

Lucifer pouted at her.  “But Detective, the sunset is beautiful -- let’s sit a little more together, shall we?”

The impulse to squish him like a giant teddy bear washed over her, and she was hard-pressed not to cave in to her urge.  Giddiness filled her insides -- Lucifer wanted to sit with her!  She felt like jumping up and singing, but instead she gave him a shy smile as she stood up and dusted herself off.  Holding her hand out, she said, “Come.”

His warm eyes held hers as he took her hand and rose to his feet.  Linking her arm in his, she guided him back inside.  Looking around at the damage everywhere, Chloe reflected that Marcus had not only made a mess of her relationship with Lucifer, but the penthouse, as well.  Luckily everything could be repaired -- the furniture and, thank god, her relationship with her partner.

And perhaps their bond would be even stronger than before?  For deep inside, she knew that their fundamental relationship had shifted.  Finally in a better place than they had been in a long time, they were starting over again, and that filled Chloe’s insides with warmth.  Now that she knew he loved her, perhaps they could build their friendship into something better, something enduring....

Her eyes full of stars, Chloe smiled at Lucifer and led him to the kitchen.  There, she tended to his wounds... and dreamed of a bright future with her wonderful partner.

 

 


End file.
